How do I solve a problem like Rios?
by Caprica Janeway
Summary: Since taking over the prosecution of Philip Stroh, Emma finds herself having to answer questions concerning her behaviour to a less than amused Andrea Hobbs. Set during the episode 'All In' (2x14).


**A/N:** This story was 90% completed before 'Leap of Faith' aired, I think it still fits in with current canon - I'd love to know your thoughts though. This is my attempt at creating what I call a mentorship between Andrea and Emma, as I really think Emma could use a little guidance. And yes the title of this fic is inspired by a song from The Sound of Music ;)

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"They've been complaints."

"I never would have imagined," Emma replied sarcastically with her chin in her hand.

Andrea narrowed her eyes at the young DDA - Emma had been here before, she had a file that contained letters and emails cataloging her attitude, her approach to witnesses and the police - and her overall presentation.

"I've read your file."

Emma looked up from her coffee mug and waved her hand to the nearest waiter. He saw her in a matter of moments and eagerly made his way to their table.

"Can I please have another latte, no sugar this time - Ms Hobbs?"

Andrea put the file down and waved the waiter a gesture that implied she was fine, and he left them to prepare Emma's drink.

Andrea wasn't sure what to make of Emma. She had initially joined the team from the district attorney's office in Sacramento three years ago. She had primarily worked on drug cases, but in the last two years had taken on a few murder cases at the discretion of her supervisor - a role she now found herself lumbered with.

While she appeared to have an excellent closing record, her personal record could use some improvements. There was never a suggestion within her file that she wasn't intelligent or talented, just that she had a certain kind of intelligence that made her quite forthright in her opinions and often blinding her to the bigger issues.

"Is this about Rusty Beck? Am I going to be scolded for pointing out the very obvious problem of having the police captain in charge of the Major Crimes unit as his guardian? I think I've made myself quite clear on the matter, and I've tried to back off when appropriate, but my concerns are still relevant, and they are still frequently dismissed."

Andrea sighed, raised an eyebrow and casually flipped through the file in front of her.

"Rusty Beck and Sharon Raydor are hardly your biggest problems, but they are your most present ones."

Emma's shoulders arched back as she inhaled a very obvious breath. She looked to her left, looking at the waiter who was making his way to their table with the coffee. As he approached she released another breath with a smile and took her coffee.

"Can I get you ladies anything else?" He asked.

"No we're fine," Andrea answered for the both of them.

Andrea watched Emma, as she in turn watched the waiter leave. Her face was soft, and she held the hint of a smile without fully committing to the gesture. As the waiter moved further away she noticed Emma's shoulders start to slump. She didn't appear to be someone accustomed to sitting still. She needed to be on the move, ticking boxes as she went, collating achievements and on the look out for her next opportunity. But for now she sighed quietly, and pushed back a strand of hair that dared escape from her masses of perfectly placed curls. Her attention now turned to her coffee. The rich aroma was both comforting and engaging, and with an indulgent mouthful she turned back to Andrea and finally met her supervisor's patient gaze.

"I've been asked to speak to you, not because anyone is unhappy with your work, but to prevent any future missteps."

"Missteps?"

Andrea looked down at the files in front of her. This wasn't going to be easy, there wasn't much in the way of any specific complaints just a general sense of unease and frustration with Emma and her people skills.

"Judge Grove-"

"Judge Grove has had it in for me ever since the Jason Goss case."

Andrea sighed and tapped her fingers on the file in front of her. She had known Emma to be on the defensive before, and more than once it had tried her patience, but she was curious if there was more to it.

"And whorphan? Where's your justification for that particular name?"

_Of all the things she had to remember._

Emma looked away, she pressed her lips together and let go of them just as quickly. She couldn't look back at DDA Hobbs just yet, so she looked over again at the waiter moving from table to table, smiling at each of his customers. Eventually she settled her eyes on one particular customer whose appearance she found amusing.

"You've read my reports, I explained myself there. Everybody gets their credibility called into question, particularly witnesses with his kind of background."

Andrea shuffled her chair to the side, and it made a creaking sound that at least made Emma look up however briefly in her direction, before looking away again.

"If you really felt comfortable with your justification you wouldn't be so distracted by whatever the hipster with the cumbersome beard just put in his soup."

Emma raised an eyebrow. She'd been caught staring, caught in a moment of distraction, caught staring at something so ridiculous in the vain hope that this whole conversation would magically disappear. As a lawyer she should be accustomed to confrontation, but I guess even she had her limits.

"Not that it's important but I think it's croutons," Andrea continued.

In all her encounters with DDA Hobbs, Emma found her to be an unusual character. The woman kept her cards close to her chest, but at the same time would never shy away from giving an honest answer if she was asked - it was an unnerving trait for a lawyer. She also knew perfectly well that the older woman was here to talk her into line, but instead of being given a slap on the wrist, she seemed to want to indulge Emma in her distractions. Whatever her motives were, Emma was mildly concerned about what laid in wait lest she get too comfortable.

Emma was pulled out of her reverie when she noticed some of the larger - possibly more stale looking croutons the hipster was handling, haphazardly stumble off his spoon and splash unceremoniously into his bowl. Unfortunately for him, his beard was now the highly decorated home of the Vintage Garden's most prized pumpkin soup.

Emma used all her will power not to laugh. She was still under the steely, unamused gaze of DDA Hobbs, so she reeled herself in and breathed through it. She arched her shoulders back into place and again another distraction, another name came to mind.

"I suppose you've met DDA Richards on the 3rd floor?" Emma asked.

"Helena? We've met a few times. She was here a long time before I ever set foot in the building. Why do you mention her?"

"She was the first person I was introduced to when I transferred here. When I initially met her she wore this soft lavender suit and had her hair loosely tied back and wore very little make up. She rarely spoke to me, but when she did her words were gentle and encouraging. Our second meeting was completely different. I was just about to go into court and this woman who was now dressed in a deep red power suit with long straight hair and heavy make up, pulled me aside and quite aggressively asked me a series of questions on how I was going to proceed with my case. At first I was so confused by her sudden change in appearance that I kept looking her over trying to determine if it was really her. But by the time I was aware it was I was so completely put off by her attitude and combative questioning that I fumbled my closing argument."

Andrea tilted her head to the side and took in a deep breath, "I believe that's her version of a hazing ritual. She does it with new DDAs and the accused. She'll start by being accommodating and then throw you off balance as soon as you're comfortable with her. Though usually she does it before you go to meet with the DA, not right before you were to go into court. She really mustn't have liked you."

"Yeah well she made that quite clear when she berated me afterwards for it in front of three DDAs who I'd yet to meet."

Andrea had heard about Helena through an old college friend - or more like warned about her. Well qualified with an exceptionally high closing rate she was also a shark who frequently fed on green lawyers who attempted to make their way into the LA County's DA office. She had been lucky to have had the charming, if a little boisterous William 'Billy' Boyden as her mentor, and as a result had avoided the force of nature that was commonly known as 'Hard-Hearted Helena'.

"I know she's a trailblazer for female lawyers everywhere, or at least that's what I've heard her call herself, but to me she was a bully," Emma continued, distractedly folding her napkin in front of her.

"Oh yeah, she doesn't like anyone to forget the roads she has paved for us all. As well-founded as her claims may be it hasn't helped her endear herself to the majority of her staff."

Emma dropped the napkin she was holding and sat forward at her response. She tilted her head to get a closer look at her companion.

"She told me I should stick to gang related cases. She said, and I quote _'your cultural connections with the Latino community could serve you well in bridging the gap between the police and the district attorney's office'_."

Andrea raised her eyebrows and called the waiter over again. She ordered a tea this time and a slice of carrot cake she had heard the cafe was famous for.

"Did you ever meet DDA Michael's wife? Rhonda or Rita, I forget which,"

"Oh is she the one who hands out pamphlets for her tennis club in the foyer?"

"Yes, but only to a select few," Andrea replied, rolling her eyes.

"She once made the comment that I'd have better luck meeting a man if I wore more skirts and less eyeliner."

"Funny, she told me if I dressed more conservatively I'd have better luck catching the eye of that nice DDA Dennings on level 2."

"Henry Dennings? He's 56 years old and has nose hair that could plait itself."

A smile came a little easier for Emma now. She hadn't known DDA Hobbs for very long and she still wasn't sure the woman liked her, but at least she was making an effort.

She always knew she wasn't likeable - people like her never were. You're told to be the shark, but to consider carefully who sees your teeth. If you become known for your bite you're turned into a caricature - a witch, a wolf, a she-devil. There is a state of being created by the world - called grace, or poise - and Emma knew she had none of it. She rattled a cage no one admitted existed - she needed to let people know she was there.

"If I don't set the agenda, then other people try and set it for me," Emma stated, aware that again she was shifting the delicate balance of the conversation, but eager to make her position clearer.  
>"...I know what I called Rusty was a mistake, but fundamentally my goal is to win the case. Which in the end ultimately benefits Rusty and Captain Raydor's division."<p>

The waiter arrived with tea and cake, and Andrea proceeded to cut the slice of cake in two and surprised Emma by placing a slice on her plate.

"I'm not asking you to relent. I'm asking you to consider who you're prosecuting here. In your pursuit of Stroh you've forgotten you aren't just a prosecutor in this case, you're also Rusty's defence. If you break him before he goes to trial you've done the defence's job for them."

Emma picked up the small fork DDA Hobbs had offered her and broke off a piece of the carrot cake.

"You know the Captain has a lot more in common with you then you think," Andrea continued.

"...you're both single-minded, easily frustrated with people you deem are not following procedure, and you've both had to deal with people who have been less than welcoming. Did you ever consider meeting her on that level? She's not another DDA Richards, she'll support you if you give her and Rusty a little more understanding."

Emma took a small bite of her cake and considered her response. She noticed Andrea's eyes watching her.

"I could use a little more tact."

"Like the Titanic could've used more lifeboats."

Emma tilted her head in agreement, tentatively smiling at the other woman. She noticed Andrea's shoulders slump a little and wondered if she was the cause of the headache she could sense creeping across the other woman's brow.

"You watch Rusty's back, and I'll watch yours - but don't think I'm here to foster your ego."

"Oh don't worry, I'm unlikely to make that assumption."

Andrea nodded, amused and relived to be getting somewhere - anywhere really. She broke off another piece of the cake and took a bite. Rios was stubborn, she had potential but would need to be watched closely. This was no rookie needing a mentor to carefully shape their career. This was an established guns-blazing fireball who had spent years battling assumptions and critique only to make her hardwired against any kind of change.

She was a headache alright. God how she wanted to rub her temples and ease the ache that this infuriating yet not completely unsympathetic woman had caused her. At the same time she didn't want to drag attention away from the issue at hand, and instead allowed her eyes to linger on her companion's composure.

Emma's shoulders were no longer the stiff, tightly constructed frames of resistance they once were. While she was still putting extra effort into raising her head proudly, it was quite obvious that she itched to rest the side of her face against the arm she had left leaning carelessly on the table.

"You know I don't normally do this but I think there is something here you should read."

Andrea opened Emma's file and passed her an open envelope. Emma's eyebrows rose immediately as she recognised the embossed logo of Judge Grove's office staring back at her.

"Judge Gross?"

Andrea just nodded and Emma continued to open the contents of the letter. It was addressed to both Andrea and the District Attorney and just as she suspected it was a follow up to her performance on the Jason Goss case. She knew it was going to be a tough sell getting her plea agreement across the line, but she had never expected such agitation from the judge, and when the agreement fell through and another murder resulted, she was more than willing to let the judge know exactly how she felt.

The first few lines of the letter made reference to the hasty manner in which her and the Major Crimes division had tried to seek out a plea agreement. There were accusations that neither side had worked hard enough to gain the appropriate evidence in order to get a harsher, more deserving deal for the accused. He noted that it was only after he rejected the deal that Rios and the Major Crimes division offered, that they were able to secure more evidence and a better plea agreement. That perhaps if they had applied more perseverance to their jobs in the first place and less reliance on the deal system, that they may have made their conviction a lot earlier.

"Ouch," Emma uttered not realising she had spoken out loud.

"Keep reading," Andrea replied.

It was this next part that caused Emma to turn her head. After all the berating on her performance in the courtroom it appeared Judge Grove had something positive to add.

_While I do not appreciate being challenged on my adherence to the justice system within a courtroom setting, I do value the diligence and ethics that DDA Rios endeavours to uphold. She is one of the brightest and equally one of the most frustrating DDAs I have had in my courtroom. She has great potential, but I feel that potential will be wasted without adequate guidance and support from her fellow DDAs. - Judge Alexander Grove._

"Hmm," Emma was lost for what to say. Of all the judges she encountered on a daily basis Judge Grove was frequently the more aggressive and difficult to understand. He was rarely happy with the deals she presented, and she always felt like she had to go out of her way to cross every 't' and dot every 'i' with every bit of paper work she handed him.

"There are other letters here, some of a similar nature, some less kind, and some that are just completely ridiculous."

"So you have my file now,"

"And you have Rusty Beck's."

"My misstep," she sighed.

"Apologise to him, and be genuine."

"My concern hasn't changed, he's a minor, and he needs to stay safe."

"Then tell him that. Tell him what you are doing is out of a place of concern, not judgement."

Andrea signalled the waiter and requested the bill. As he came over he smiled at both women and lingered just a little longer on Emma as he placed the receipt on their table.

"Thank you…Andrea"

"Oh don't thank me, and it's DDA Hobbs - after all, you're paying."

Emma rolled her eyes and picked up the bill. She stood up from her chair and looked at the cafe around her. The hipster had left, _probably in a hurry to clean out his beard_, she thought. There was an older couple having tea and a couple of surfers devouring a plate of fries between them and then there was them.

She looked back at her companion who was packing away the file - her file, the one with her name at the top filled with letters that maybe she didn't want to read. Some sort of accidental understanding had happened here, and she wasn't sure if it made sense that it happened between them, but there it was.

She was going to apologise, and she was going to do it knowing that someone had offered her an option, and she was going to think of them as a friend - whether they liked it or not.


End file.
